When I first moved to Majorca I couldn’t believe the sheer audacity of cold callers – and con artists – who would besiege my phone line late into the evening usually either trying to sell telephone packages or building services.

Why carrier pigeons can prove a ‘turn off’ for cold callers

Since the recession the calls have become more varied – and desperate – and now there’s even a new automated response that is infuriatingly regurgitated as soon as the telephone call is answered. The calls with automated messages are usually from companies selling supposedly cheap rate phone deals and insurance companies looking for easy pickings among expat residents. Now I keep these numbers – all from the mainland – to hand by the telephone and make sure never to answer them when they are automatically redialled.

All the same, about a year ago I decided that there might be sport to be had with cold callers. If you… Read more